It's been a few years, but drummer Paul Bostaph is back behind the kit for Slayer and will get to show off his chops with the band on their summer tour. Bostaph was recently named a full-time replacement after the group decided to move forward without Dave Lombardo following a contractual dispute earlier this year. In his first interview since rejoining the band, Bostaph spoke with Nikki Blakk of San Francisco's 107.7 The Bone about his return and he also shared memories of late Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman.

"I'm excited to be back," said Bostaph to Blakk. "It's been I don't know how many years since the last time I played with them … I think 12 years or something like that. It's been really cool to come back in the room and play some of the songs; Slayer songs are epic and amazing. So that's been great. We had a lot of great years together when I was with them — I had a lot of fun with them — and I'm hoping to continue all that. So I'm looking forward to it." The drummer added that he felt it was somewhat fitting that his first show with Slayer was in Poland and that is where the band is kicking off their first date on their upcoming summer trek.

Bostaph was in attendance last week when late Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman was saluted by his peers, family and those closest to him at a memorial in Los Angeles. Speaking about Hanneman as a person, Bostaph stated, "It's hard to describe how much Jeff just made me laugh. He had a great sense of humor and he'd come up with stuff right off the top of his head. And he was a great dude to hang with. Many times we'd be on the road and we'd get somewhere and Jeff would call me up and say, 'Hey, let's go get a beer,' and we'd just sit at the bar and talk about stuff. You know what I mean? I had a lot of good times with him and he's sorely missed by a lot of people, myself included."

Bostaph also shared a couple of stories about his first meeting with the guitarist and what life was like on tour. To hear the full interview, click on the audio file from 107.7 The Bone above.